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Thread: New AMD Build

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    New AMD Build

    I'm looking to start a new build and am looking to get something in the price/performance sweetspot, as opposed to going for max power, I don't play that many games and am more likely to do video editing/encoding. So not worried about strapping 2 vid cards in there or anything high-end like that.

    I am thinking of an AMD Phenom x4 955 BE (£110ish) to start with and was looking for a good motherboard that is future-proof without being stupid. I was wondering if its sensible to go with the 890 chipset, I'm assuming that its better then the 880 etc, something like an ASRock 880G Extreme3 at around £82?

    That gets me the heart of the system for a shade under £200, is there a better combo out there for around the same price?

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    F.A.S.T. Butuz's Avatar
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    Re: New AMD Build

    Am I right in saying that the up and coming Bulldozer CPUs won't be compatible with the current AM3 motherboards???? If so - then nothing you buy now is future proof, so instead just buy what you need for the lowest cost you can find!

    Butuz

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    Sprouts are not food Attila the Bun's Avatar
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    Re: New AMD Build

    I'm using an ASUS M4A88TD-V EVO/USB3 with an AMD Phenom x4 965 BE. Purchased because of advice received here and that it has USB3 and 6 Gb SATA already included.

    The mobo came with some nice features one of which allows a 15% overclock at the touch of a button.

    3 months on I've had no major problems and the system has run very smoothly apart from 2 occasions which I was able to sort out by referring to the manual.
    Of course I'm perfect you just need to lower your expectations.

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    ERU
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    Re: New AMD Build

    My build thread might be good reference of information for this:
    http://forums.hexus.net/hexus-hardwa...uy-please.html

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    Re: New AMD Build

    Quote Originally Posted by Butuz View Post
    Am I right in saying that the up and coming Bulldozer CPUs won't be compatible with the current AM3 motherboards???? If so - then nothing you buy now is future proof, so instead just buy what you need for the lowest cost you can find!

    Butuz
    I'll have to look into that, can't say I've come across that before. I suppose we all understand that we are never 100% future-proof no matter what we do.

    That said, I feel that AMD have a better rep than Intel who love to change sockets. AMD are still knocking out Athlons so even if the Bulldozer needs a different MB I expect that there still will be an upgrade path of sorts in 3 years time, even if not a QL.

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    Re: New AMD Build

    Quote Originally Posted by Attila the Bun View Post
    I'm using an ASUS M4A88TD-V EVO/USB3 with an AMD Phenom x4 965 BE. Purchased because of advice received here and that it has USB3 and 6 Gb SATA already included.

    The mobo came with some nice features one of which allows a 15% overclock at the touch of a button.

    3 months on I've had no major problems and the system has run very smoothly apart from 2 occasions which I was able to sort out by referring to the manual.
    Nice choice, that MB is also on my list and in a way prompted my question 'Is the 890 worth it over older chipsets such as the 880', especially when you still can get USB3 and SATA3. If someone said that the 890 MBs are currently crap and its worth waiting for 2nd gen or buy a 880 then that's the kinda of info I'm looking for.

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    Re: New AMD Build

    Quote Originally Posted by ERU View Post
    My build thread might be good reference of information for this:
    http://forums.hexus.net/hexus-hardwa...uy-please.html
    Cheers I'll take a look, I was going to spend some time looking back to see if someone had done something similar recently.

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    Re: New AMD Build

    ebuyer currently has the 955BE for £106 and the 965BE for £126. Given that the only difference between them is that the 955 has a 16x multiplier and the 965 has a 17x multiplier, and both processors have unlocked mutlipliers, I'd personally buy a 955BE, set the mutliplier to 17x in the BIOS, and *tada* you've got yourself a budget 965BE

    p.s. If you're really looking for the price performance sweet spot, I'd go for the Phenom II X6 1055T - thanks to the turbo core feature, it's at least as fast as a 965BE in lightly threaded tasks, and thanks to the 2 extra cores it's a lot faster in heavily threaded tasks. The only time you'd lose out is if you do a lot of workloads that use *exactly* 4 cores, and there aren't too many of them...!

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    Re: New AMD Build

    Quote Originally Posted by scaryjim View Post
    ebuyer currently has the 955BE for £106 and the 965BE for £126. Given that the only difference between them is that the 955 has a 16x multiplier and the 965 has a 17x multiplier, and both processors have unlocked mutlipliers, I'd personally buy a 955BE, set the mutliplier to 17x in the BIOS, and *tada* you've got yourself a budget 965BE
    And had I been buying now instead of when I did, and knowing now what I didn't then...I too would have gone for the 955. In my defence there was only a £10 difference between the the 2 cheapest prices of each cpu when I bought them and as I knew bugger all about overclocking I thought I'd have the faster model.

    I'd have stuck with this motherboard though.
    Of course I'm perfect you just need to lower your expectations.

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    Re: New AMD Build

    If you're going to be doing video editing then you'll want hard drive space as it really chews up space on hard drives.
    I'd say a 500gb at least, or maybe two drives one for OS and a 2nd for data storage (still my perfered setup)

    A seperate graphics card, doesn't have to be too high end may well be handy as many bits of software cut now use them to accelerate video processing (check the details and forums for the video editor you plan to use to see what cards will work and what effect it'll have)
    Although this has the potential to be a later upgrade so it's not that big an issue on a low budget.

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    Re: New AMD Build

    Quote Originally Posted by scaryjim View Post
    ebuyer currently has the 955BE for £106 and the 965BE for £126. Given that the only difference between them is that the 955 has a 16x multiplier and the 965 has a 17x multiplier, and both processors have unlocked mutlipliers, I'd personally buy a 955BE, set the mutliplier to 17x in the BIOS, and *tada* you've got yourself a budget 965BE

    p.s. If you're really looking for the price performance sweet spot, I'd go for the Phenom II X6 1055T - thanks to the turbo core feature, it's at least as fast as a 965BE in lightly threaded tasks, and thanks to the 2 extra cores it's a lot faster in heavily threaded tasks. The only time you'd lose out is if you do a lot of workloads that use *exactly* 4 cores, and there aren't too many of them...!
    I came to the same conclusion with the 955BE and strangely enough I have been also evaluating the 1055T (great minds etc) at around £40 more it certainly is a strong contender, esp when OC'd.

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    Re: New AMD Build

    Quote Originally Posted by Pob255 View Post
    If you're going to be doing video editing then you'll want hard drive space as it really chews up space on hard drives.
    I'd say a 500gb at least, or maybe two drives one for OS and a 2nd for data storage (still my perfered setup)

    A seperate graphics card, doesn't have to be too high end may well be handy as many bits of software cut now use them to accelerate video processing (check the details and forums for the video editor you plan to use to see what cards will work and what effect it'll have)
    Although this has the potential to be a later upgrade so it's not that big an issue on a low budget.
    Agreed, I will be pulling my drives out of my current system and will probably have 2TB+ so no probs there. I will probably chuck in my existing card or stick with the onboard until I pick out a good card for around £50-£75.

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    Re: New AMD Build

    I am still wondering about the MB (890 chipset?) though, don't mind mATX or ATX but I don't want to be much more than £100 if I don't have to.

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    Sprouts are not food Attila the Bun's Avatar
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    Re: New AMD Build

    Quote Originally Posted by tommyturnip View Post
    I am still wondering about the MB (890 chipset?) though, don't mind mATX or ATX but I don't want to be much more than £100 if I don't have to.
    When I looked at the M4A88TD-V EVO/USB3 I also looked at the M4A890TD PRO/USB3 as comparison. Now I'm no hardware expert but I could see little difference in the IO specification, what the mobo could handle in terms of expansion cards and what memory it could deal with. This statement is subjective because obviously I was looking a board that would suit my needs, your requirements will be different.

    The main difference appears to be price with the 880 nearly half the price of the 890. If you compare the 880 with the M4A89GTD PRO there is only a £16 difference but you lose your USB3 capability.

    Now whether or not there is a componant quality issue here to justify the price difference I don't know, but in the "bank for buck" stakes the 880 impressed me more than the 890 and my setup has handled everything I've thrown at it with ease.
    Of course I'm perfect you just need to lower your expectations.

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    Re: New AMD Build

    The crucial thing to look for with the AMD motherboards is the southbridge - and unfortunately not all etailers list that so you may have to go hunting on the manufacturer websites.

    I believe all 890 boards, as well as some of the higher end 880 boards, will have the newer SB850 southbridge, while some cheaper 880 motherboards are fitted with the older SB710. The SB850 supports SATA 6Gbps and more RAID combinations, and probably has some other enhancements that I can't remember of the top of my head

    As far as the northbridge goes, I believe the main difference between 880 and 890 chipsets is that the 890s have more PCIe lanes so they can support crossfire (i.e. linking two Radeon graphics cards together).

    If you're not interested in crossfire and SATA 6Gbps, then tbh you're probably better off with a decent 880-based motherboard.

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    Sprouts are not food Attila the Bun's Avatar
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    Re: New AMD Build

    Quote Originally Posted by scaryjim View Post
    I believe all 890 boards, as well as some of the higher end 880 boards, will have the newer SB850 southbridge, while some cheaper 880 motherboards are fitted with the older SB710. The SB850 supports SATA 6Gbps and more RAID combinations, and probably has some other enhancements that I can't remember of the top of my head
    The EVO has the SB850 Southbridge. Although I will admit that when I got it I didn't know the significance of the SB850...I just saw it had USB3 and 6 gb SATA.

    Quote Originally Posted by scaryjim View Post
    As far as the northbridge goes, I believe the main difference between 880 and 890 chipsets is that the 890s have more PCIe lanes so they can support crossfire (i.e. linking two Radeon graphics cards together).
    Again, the EVO supports crossfire and hybrid crossfire (what the difference is I haven't checked). The number of lanes is the same but the 890 has a PCIx4 the 880 doesn't.

    Quote Originally Posted by scaryjim View Post
    If you're not interested in crossfire and SATA 6Gbps, then tbh you're probably better off with a decent 880-based motherboard.
    All in all I think the EVO is a little gem.
    Of course I'm perfect you just need to lower your expectations.

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